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It's "Snow White" at People's Light

The holiday season wouldn't be complete without a visit to People's Light & Theatre Company. Here's the scoop on the current attraction, Snow White:

Snow White, by Kathryn Petersen, with music and lyrics written by Michael Ogborn, runs through January 3 on the Main Stage. Pete Pryor directs. People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call 610.644.3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.

Snow White is one of three shows in the Target Family Discovery Series and is sponsored by ING. This is People's Light's sixth "Panto" style show, a traditional form borrowed from England, where almost every town has a Panto during the holiday season. Pantos are part "fractured fairy tale" and part variety show.

Snow White incorporates traditional Panto elements, including audience participation (in the form of cheering the heroes and booing the villains), candy tossed out to audience members, and "silly songs" shared in an audience sing-along.

The Spectrum: home of countless memories

It's impossible to count how many times 19355ers took the Broad St. exit of I-95 and battled traffic into the Spectrum.  We saw the Sixers or Flyers, or maybe one of the minor league teams such as the Phantoms, Kixx or Fever.  We saw a who's who of top concert acts, literally including The Who and every other act from Springsteen to Sinatra, from Neil Diamond to the Dead.  The circus, ice shows, wrestling, roller derby ... the Spectrum truly was America's Showplace.

It's shuttered now, and I understand it's well past its prime and not nearly the money-maker it used to be.  But the joint used to hop in a soulful way the antiseptic Wachovia Center never will.

From a professional standpoint, I'll remember a couple of incredible moments courtesy of Sixers legend Julius Erving.  Doctor J's two most famous baskets as a Sixer took place at the Spectrum in games I was covering for the Daily Local News, both against the Lakers.  1) His incredible swooping, skywalking move under the basket against an overmatched Mark Landsberger.  2) His soaring dunk from seemingly half-court against Michael Cooper, one of the great defenders of his era.

From the purely personal side, the last memory is the best.  My family and I saw the opening and closing shows of Bruce Springsteen's four-night stand last month.  When Bruce and the E Street Band improvised the Jackie Wilson classic (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher, it was pure magic.  All was right with the world at that moment.  I'd love to hear from other 19355ers who were also there and felt something truly special.

I watch the video a few times a week.  It's impossible not to smile at the joy being shared between performers and their audience.

Thanks to Bruce and the Spectrum for one last memorable moment.

 

Do we really need yet another bank?

I have a bunch of things to catch up with here, the first being this photo I took about two weeks ago.  It's at the corner of 30 & King as you enter Malvern Borough.  Basil's Bistro closed and was leveled to make room for a bank.  Seems to me we need another bank about as much as another CVS.

As evidence, directly across the street is a building that formerly housed, yes, a bank.  It's been closed for a couple of years now.

I went to Basil's a few times and enjoyed it, although I had no emotional attachment.  I'd be curious if anyone could share any special experiences they might have had.  My attachment was to the restaurant prior to Basil's: Seafood Shanty.  The Shanty and the Malvern Meeting House were our go-to places for comfort food in a comfortable setting.  Miss them both.

Another bank?  Nothing against Citadel, but ... meh.